The family of the Flaviviridae consists of 3 genera, the pestiviruses, the flaviviruses and the hepaciviruses and also contains the hepatitis G virus (HGV/GBV-C) that has not yet been assigned to a genus. Pestiviruses such as the Classical Swine Fever Virus (CSFV), the Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus (BVDV) and the Border Disease Virus (BDV) cause infections of domestic livestock (respectively pigs, cattle and sheep) and are responsible for significant economic losses world-wide. BVDV, the prototypic representative of the pestivirus genus is ubiquitous and causes a range of clinical manifestations, including abortion, teratogenesis, respiratory problems, chronic wasting disease, immune system dysfunction, and predisposition to secondary viral and bacterial infections and may also cause acute fatal disease. Foetuses of cattle can be infected persistently with BVDV, these animals remain viremic throughout life and serve as a continuous sources for virus spread in herds.
Vaccines are used in some countries with varying degrees of success to control pestivirus disease. In other countries, animal culling and slaughter are used to contain pestivirus disease outbreaks.
The World Health Organization estimates that world-wide 170 million people (3% of the world's population) are chronically infected with HCV. These chronic carriers are at risk of developing cirrhosis and/or liver cancer. In studies with a 10 to 20 year follow-up, cirrhosis developed in 20-30% of the patients, 1 to 5% of whom may develop liver cancer during the next then years. The only treatment option available today is the use of interferon α-2 (or its pegylated from) either alone or combined with ribavirin. However, sustained response is only observed in about 40% of the patients and treatment is associated with serious adverse effects. There is thus an urgent need for potent and selective inhibitors of the replication of the HCV in order to treat infections with HCV. Furthermore, the study of specific inhibitors of HCV replication has been hampered by the fact that it is not possible to propagate HCV (efficiently) in cell culture. Since HCV and pestiviruses belong to the same virus family and share many similarities (organisation of the genome, analogous gene products and replication cycle), pestiviruses have been adopted as a model and surrogate for HCV. For example BVDV is closely related to hepatitis C virus (HCV) and used as a surrogate virus in drug development for HCV infection.
The compound 3-[((2-dipropylamino)ethyl)thio]-5H-1,2,4-triazino[5,6-b]indole has been reported to selectively inhibit the replication of BVDV and other pestiviruses (Baginski S G et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2000 Jul. 5; 97(14):7981-6). Currently, there is no treatment strategy available for controlling infections caused by pestiviruses.
Coxsackie viruses belong to the group of the enteroviruses, family of the Picornaviridae. They cause a heterogeneous group of infections including herpangina, aseptic meningitis, a common-cold-like syndrome, a non-paralytic poliomyelitis-like syndrome, epidemic pleurodynia (an acute, febrile, infectious disease generally occurring in epidemics), hand-foot-mouth syndrome, pediatric and adult pancreatitis and serious myocarditis.
Currently only pleconaril (3-13,5-dimethyl-4-[[3-methyl-5-isoxazolyl)propyl]phenyl]-5-(trifluoromethyl-1,2,4-oxadiazole)) and enviroxime (2-amino-1-(isopropylsulfonyl)-6-benzimidazole phenyl ketone oxime) have been studied clinically for the treatment of infections with enteroviruses. Pleconaril is a so called “capsid function-inhibitor”; enviroxime prevents the formation of the RNA replicative intermediate. Enviroxime resulted in only modest clinical and virological benefit in some studies and no benefits in others. Clinical response with pleconaril has been observed in some studies, but the compound has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (hearing of Mar. 18th, 2002).
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,914,108, 4,990,518, 4,988,707, 5,227,384, 5,302,601 and 5,486,525 describe 5-substituted [4,5-c]imidazopyridine derivatives useful in the treatment of diseases or disorders mediated by platelet-activating factor. The compounds were found to inhibit 3H-PAF binding to human platelets.
EP 1132381 describes esters of 2,2-dimethylpropionic acid comprising a benzmidazole structure having an inhibitory activity of elastase.
WO 96/1192 describes compounds of the general formula Ar1-Q-Ar2-YR-Z, wherein Z is optionally a [4,5-c]imidazopyridine which are proposed as LTA4 hydrolase inhibitors useful for the treatment of inflammatory diseases mediated by LTB4 production
WO 96/12703 describes heteroarylthioalkyl thiophenolic compounds having 5-lipoxygenase inhibitory activity which are suggested to be useful in the treatment of 5-lipoxygenase mediated conditions.
Chemical Abstracts acc no. 1987:18435 and Chemical Abstracts acc no. 1983:594812 describe the synthesis of two imidazo[4,5-b] and of imidazo[4,5c]pyridine derivatives substituted with piperazinyl and furanyl groups.
EP 1162196 describes fused ring compounds for the use as therapeutic agents for hepatitis C. The fused 5 and 6 membered ring is made up of optionally substituted carbon atoms or nitrogen atoms and optionally one oxygen, sulfur atom or substituted nitrogen atom on the 5 membered ring. WO 95/02597 describes imidazo[4,5c]pyridine derivatives not substituted at the N5 with antiviral activity
GB2158440 describes 4,5,6,7-tetrahydroimidazo[4,5-c]pyridine derivatives with antiviral activities.
STN database accession 110:165603 & Khimiko-Farmatsevtichsskii Zurnal, 23:1, (1989), 26-59, describe spinaceamine derivatives such as 5H-imidazo [4,5-c]pyridine-5-ethanol, 1,4,6,7-tetrahydro-alpha-(4-methoxyphenyl)-1,2-dimethyl compounds with antiviral activity (small pox virus).
STN database accession 132:222537 and HU73019 describe N-alkylated azoles with antibacterial activity.
WO9927929 describes [4.3.0] nitrogen containing ring systems and homologous compounds which are proposed as famesyl-protein transferase inhibitors applicable in the treatment of cancer.
WO9611192 describes 5-substituted imidazo(4,5)pyridine compounds and related molecules for use as anti-inflammatory compounds by inhibiting leukotriene A4 hydrolase.
EP344414 describes 5-Substituted imidazo[4,5-c]pyridines for the treatment of diseases such as inflammation, cardiovascular disorders and asthma.
WO9516687 describes imidazopyridine indoles which act as platelet activating factor antagonists:
J. Comb. Chem. (2000) 4:5, 475-483 describes the synthesis of benzimidazole compound for use in small organic libraries.
In view of their important pharmacological value, there is a need for drugs having antiviral activity, optionally selective activity against viruses belonging to the family of Flaviviridae including hepatitis C virus, and against viruses belong to the family of Picornaviridae.